'Marketing' Stall - Rethink your next pitch

Now the weather is getting better and the season for
food and drink festivals, fairs and other events is upon us I was thinking about
how effective taking a stall is these days for producers.

I read many posts about stall holders having great days
at markets recently. I wondered about what a ‘great’ day consists of?

Historically selling from a stall was all about exactly
that. Stack up your goods, get energetic and hope that your stall was empty by
the end of the day! Of course it’s nice to sell lots of stuff but there are now
many more potential benefits to think about.

Commercially how you present your stall to your
customers is massive. Impactful, interesting, tactile, interactive,
demonstrations and communication with your audience is important.

The reality is that your sales conversion versus
footfall may not necessarily be high on the day of your Market. People only
carry so much money! Therefore how will you leave a lasting impression on
customers to return to your brand and try it out later - on-line, from home or
from your store or buyer’s store?

My definition of a ‘great’ day could be how many new
customers did you interact with, get to see, try or taste your products and
helped define a clear way to continue your relationship after the conversation.

Of course traditional methods of leaflets and flyers can
work well to direct interest to your websites etc. but I wonder with today’s
technology whether customers could be encourage to engage with your social
media, newsletter, email etc. right there and then on the market stall? Who
knows your efforts from that day may create returning, happy customers way into
the future.

Maybe a great day is capturing 50 email addresses for
your newsletter or having 50 people follow your twitter account? Get creative
with your targets for the day and have fun with it!

Moving your stall from a necessary evil and overhead
(that you are trying to claw back on the day), to your marketing budget line
(accounted for in your business plan) may ease the pain of market day.

it may also help you be with your customers in spirit,
sharing your passion, knowledge and personality and not just looking for what’s
left in their pockets.